Even When it Hurts...

It’s easy to love when everything is rainbows and butterflies, but what about when you’re hurt?

How does love operate when someone did you wrong or treats you badly?

That’s the thing about love—the God kind of love—it’s unconditional. The Bible talks about love in the midst of hurt, and it defines it as forgiveness.

Forgiveness is a big deal to God—like huge. So much so that God says if you don’t forgive people, God won’t forgive you. After all, how are we who have been forgiven in a place to hold judgement? Jesus’s death on the cross for our sins was the greatest act of forgiveness ever extended; therefore, forgiveness isn’t a choice as a believer; it’s a command.

God is patient with you; He sees your hurt. The Bible says that He stores every tear that you’ve cried, yet He calls you to walk in forgiveness. Choosing to forgive is the access point to wholeness and healing. Think about it: a wound that never heals is an access point for continual pain and infection. When you hold onto offense, that wound can’t heal. It’s only when you release forgiveness that healing can begin.

The moment you choose to forgive, nothing may change in your circumstances. The person who offended you may never even apologize, but that doesn’t matter. Your choice to forgive activates God’s supernatural power to do a work in you. Each time you release forgiveness, it’s like saying:

I choose you God over my pain.

I trust you God to bring justice.

I have faith in you God to heal my hurts.

Forgiveness takes the power out of the hands of the one who hurt you and releases the power of God to act on your behalf. Until you let go, you will be a slave to that offense.

You can become bitter or get better. God sees you; He sees your pain, and He sees your faith when you lay your offense before Him and choose to forgive!

It’s not always easy to let go, and you most likely won’t “feel” like forgiving but the moment you choose to be like God— His power does things that only He can do!

Choose love today- choose forgiveness; even when it hurts!